Pittsburgh Steelers open catcher Diontae Johnson was very promising as a rookie last season, despite betting on bored quarterback Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph. He put in 59 passes for 680 yards and five touchdowns.
Johnson is expected to be in reserve for a sophomore break in 2020, for several reasons.
The first is that Ben Roethlisberger is healthy and back to average this season. The six-time Pro Bowler is a major upgrade over Hodges and Rudolph and one of the NFL’s most prolific passers-by at 100%.
Two years ago, Big Ben amassed 5,129 air yards with 34 touchdowns and interceptions.
Johnson also worked hard to physically prepare for his professional season, even though he had to do so in the most unusual offse season in NFL history.
“I think I see a significant physical difference in Diontae Johnson,” said head coach Mike Tomlin, through Allison Koehler of Steelers Wire.
Johnson may be expecting a primary statistical leap, to which JuJu Smith-Schuster made with the Steelers a few seasons ago, his highest performance in more than 500 meters between 2017 and 2018.
With an average draft position (ADP) of only 112, according to FantasyPros, Johnson can be a fantasy-valid scouse loan.
But is Johnson the most productive candidate for Sleeper Escape by 2020? Here, we’ll rank it along with nine other NFL veterans who have the most productive sleeping potential for next season and look for the most productive features in two other key positions.
Fantasy Breakout 2020 Candidates, ADP (via FantasyPros)
1. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Carolina Panthers (162)
2. Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (112)
3. Allen Lazard, WR, Green Bay Packers (191)
4. Duke Johnson Jr., RB, Houston Texans (138)
5. Robby Anderson, WR, Carolina Panthers (141)
6. Anthony Miller, WR, Chicago Bears (149)
7. Justin Jackson, RB, Los Angeles Chargers (167)
8. Noah Fant, TE, Denver Broncos (104)
9. N’Keal Harry, WR, New England Patriots (145)
10. Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans (120)
Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow comes from the prolific top season of quarterback in school football history, one in which he threw for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns and only six interceptions.
And while it’s appealing to note that Burrow was on one of the country’s top talent lists, it’s also valuable to note that Burrow benefited greatly from the coordinator’s presence through game coordinator Joe Brady.
The year before Brady’s arrival, Burrow threw for just 2,894 yards with 16 touchdowns and five selections. Not forgetting Burrow’s ability, but Brady is a vital component of the equation, and that’s a great explanation for why Carolina Panthers quarterback Teddy Bridgewater may be expecting an escape season.
In five starts last season, Bridgewater amassed 1,205 aerial yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. On a prorated basis during a 16-game season, that would result in a crusade of approximately 3,856 yards with 29 touchdowns and six interceptions. If Brady can further disarm Bridgewater’s potential, his numbers may be even better.
With talented guns in Christian McCaffrey, Robby Anderson and D.J. Moore at your disposal, Bridgewater can simply more sensible 4,000 yards and 30 landing passes this season.
Duke Johnson Jr., RB, Texans de Houston
The Houston Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins star at the start of the off-season and offensive lineman David Johnson as a member of the comeback. While the former Arizona Cardinals star is a competent runner and catcher, he recorded more than 2,000 yards combined in 2016, he has been at his best, even healthy for more than 3 seasons.
The Texans are above Johnson, but there is no guarantee that it will be an improvement over the past Carlos Hyde.
This adds to the already tortuous price of receiving Duke Johnson Jr., one of the NFL’s most prolific comebacks.
In five professional seasons with the Texans and Cleveland Browns, Johnson has amassed 279 impressive receptions and 4,276 yards of half a scrum. That means it averages around 855 yards of scrum and 56 season-consistent receptions, smart numbers for a player that you’ll probably have after the tenth circular in fantasy.
Johnson is also a competent runner, a who averages 4.4 yards consistent with the career of his career. There is a very genuine chance that it will emerge as Houston’s choice if David Johnson fights as he has in recent years.
Packers NT symptoms extension of $70 million for 4 years to the highest paid take of all time